American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation
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Erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) doses are often increased in hospitalized dialysis patients in response to acute anemia with unknown consequences. We sought to determine whether increases in ESA dose during hospital admission were associated with changes in transfusion requirement and risk of exceeding recommended hemoglobin targets. ⋯ Increasing the ESA dose at hospitalization in hemodialysis patients is associated with higher risk of exceeding recommended hemoglobin targets, but does not appear to be associated with the need for transfusion, risk of cardiovascular outcomes, or death.